Diabetes mellitus is an insidious medical condition for which there is no permanent cure. Across the globe many humans are suffering with this disease and with its implications such as heart attacks, strokes, loss of eyesight, difficulty in wound healing, more susceptible to disorders of aging and such conditions worsening to death. The onset of diabetes can occur in early age of life although many people are getting in much later part of life.
The medical condition of diabetes characterized by the inability of the pancreas gland to secrete “insulin”. Insulin is produced in the body by the beta cells of pancreas gland and helps in the metabolism of glucose to produce the energy required by the humans. In the diabetic patients the pancreas gland deteriorates and the beta cells are too small and insufficiently numerous to produce a proper amount of insulin. Hence the sugar is not properly metabolized to produce energy. As a result, diabetic patient experience an elevated levels of sugar in the blood. The diabetes can be broadly categorized into IDDM and NIDDM. Roughly “IDDM” refers to insulin dependent diabetes mellitus or type I wherein, anti-bodies destroy β-cells of islets of Langerhans which produce insulin and hence very low and no insulin levels in the circulation. In NIDDM there is no loss or moderate reduction in β-cell mass and is due to abnormality in gluco-receptor of β-cells, reduced sensitivity of peripheral tissues to insulin.
The conventional treatment of IDDM involves the administration of insulin to a patient typically by means of injections. These injections must be performed on a regular basis and are normally administered by an hypodermic needle. This is inconvenient to a patient since the administration of insulin using hypodermic needle requires both a suitable place and time to perform the injection, apart from a great deal discomfort to the patient. Also, if the amount of insulin is excessive for amount of sugar in the blood, the patient can undergo insulin shock. If a patient is unwilling or not able to accept insulin injections, pharmaceutical preparations containing oral anti-diabetic drugs such as sulfonylureas (Glibinclamide, Gliquidone etc.) or biguanides (metformin, phenformin) or insulin sensitizers such as troglitozones could be taken. All in all, the patient is constantly on the narrow edge of either too much or insufficient medication and frequently is not able to tolerate such medication because of its side effects.
To control proper blood sugar levels there by controlling this dysfunction so as prevent eventual complications, insulin independent diabetics must maintain a regulated diet control and exercise. Unfortunately most of the diabetics experience to great of difficulty to follow such restrictions leading to worsening of associated complications. Further more, treating with insulin never cures this disorder and there is an urgent need to treat this disease with natural products, which have the advantages of patient compliance and least side effects compared to synthetic medicines. The usage of herbs in the treatment of medical ailments has been a tradition in many countries like India, china etc for so many years, and several diseases can be cured without any side effects.
Hypoglycemic efficacy of different parts of Azadirachta indica was evaluated by different researchers (Sonia & Srinivas, 1999, Santoshkumari and Devi, 1990, Murty et.al., 1978, Dixit et.al., 1986, Shukla et.al., 1973, Jain,1984). Hypoglycemic effects of (−)-epicatchin (Chakravarthy et. al. 1982), Gymnesma sylvestre (Asha et. al. 1981), Trigonella foenum graecum (Khosla et. al. 1995) have been reported. Herbal composition containing different compositions of Trigonella foenum graecum, Nigella sativa, Orgnanum vulgare, Rosmarinus officinalis, Lupinusterms, Lawsonia inermis and Foemiculum vulgare and methods to treat diabetes mellitus were described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,834 (Baraka, 2000). Hypoglycemic extracts for treating diabetes which were obtained from different species of genus Eugena of myrtaceae family were disclosed in US PTO Pub. No. US 2001/0021401 A1 (Sharma et.al. 2001). Similarly medicinal compositions, described as pancreas tonic, containing Epicatechin (pterocarpus marsupium), gymnemic acid (gymnema sylvestre) along with other plant products such as Cinnamomum tamala, Momardica charantia, Aegle marelose, Syzygium cumini, Trigunella foenum graceum and Azadirachta indica, Tinospora cordifolia, Ficus racemosa was described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,886,029 (Dhaliwal, 1999). A different herbal edible composition containing Syzygim cumini, Gymne sylvestre, Momordica charantia and Solanum melogena was described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,240 (Tomer et.al. 1999).